Man, 37, gets double life terms for molestations

Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 9:20 p.m.

A convicted sex offender arrested for sex crimes against a child was sentenced to two, consecutive life sentences on Thursday.

Anthony James Petersen, 37, was found guilty in court and sentenced by Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Senior Judge Aymer Curtis after a two-day trial this week. Petersen was convicted of capital sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12. Petersen was arrested and charged in September 2011.

"The state is pleased with both the verdict and sentence," said Spencer Mann, chief investigator for the State Attorney's Office in Gainesville.

The charges stemmed from a July 2011 investigation when a teenager told a relative about what Petersen had done to him, according to a Gainesville Police Department spokesperson.

An arrest report said Petersen was dating the victim's mother at the time and living with the family.

The woman's son and daughter "reported that during the time frame of 2000-04 they were each sexually battered multiple times" by Petersen, the report said. The abuse stopped when the woman ended her relationship with Petersen, the report added.

Petersen was also convicted of lewd and lascivious assault on a child and false imprisonment in 1996, according to Department of Corrections records, and he spent a year in prison.

Petersen was subsequently convicted of failing to notify law enforcement of his entry into a community in 2003, and failing to comply with Florida's sex offender registration requirements in 2006. He was released from prison in February 2008.

<p>A convicted sex offender arrested for sex crimes against a child was sentenced to two, consecutive life sentences on Thursday.</p><p>Anthony James Petersen, 37, was found guilty in court and sentenced by Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Senior Judge Aymer Curtis after a two-day trial this week. Petersen was convicted of capital sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12. Petersen was arrested and charged in September 2011.</p><p>"The state is pleased with both the verdict and sentence," said Spencer Mann, chief investigator for the State Attorney's Office in Gainesville.</p><p>The charges stemmed from a July 2011 investigation when a teenager told a relative about what Petersen had done to him, according to a Gainesville Police Department spokesperson.</p><p>An arrest report said Petersen was dating the victim's mother at the time and living with the family.</p><p>The woman's son and daughter "reported that during the time frame of 2000-04 they were each sexually battered multiple times" by Petersen, the report said. The abuse stopped when the woman ended her relationship with Petersen, the report added.</p><p>Petersen was also convicted of lewd and lascivious assault on a child and false imprisonment in 1996, according to Department of Corrections records, and he spent a year in prison.</p><p>Petersen was subsequently convicted of failing to notify law enforcement of his entry into a community in 2003, and failing to comply with Florida's sex offender registration requirements in 2006. He was released from prison in February 2008.</p>